I posted last week or so that I tought one of my Salmons was male. Now I'm not too sure. Both chicks have a lot of dark coloring, but I've been reading that can happen with hatchery chicks.
I'm wondering what it is about hatchery activities that produce chicks that deviate from standards. Is there unintentional cross breeding going on? Or is it just that hatcheries aren't as careful about "only" breeding using the best representative stock from the breed?
Thinking through it, I guess most breeds are a result of past cross-breeding. It looks like the Faverolles were a result of crossing many breeds. (Yes, I'm "googling" as I'm writing this post. I do a lot of multi-tasking.) Maybe some lines are so diluted that chicks start to take on characteristics of (crossed breeds).
Of course, another thought is that hatcheries try to replicate the crossing and don't quite get the "formula" right.
Sorry. I just started rambling while thinking through it. You're all just lucky enough to get to share in my thought process!
Hatcheries are in the business of production of chicks that will grow to resemble the breeds they are advertised as being. Selection is based on egg production more than anything else. Hatcheries are not known for breeding to standard. There are certain ones that do so, but most of the large commercial operations do not. For the average urban dweller who cannot have males and who only wants egg layers, this is not a problem. The only problem for that person is the minimums imposed by so many of them, which is why I order pullets and resell them to people who only want a few. I make next to nothing on them, but it is satisfying and keeps me immersed in chicks
I try not to order any I would hate to be stuck with, because at some point there will be extras that I will wind up adding to my layer flock.
Next year when I am able to hatch my own I will order fewer, but will still order some because mine will be straight run (Speckled Sussex and Silkies mainly, Egyptian Fayoumis, and some RIR and LF Cochins probably, depends on what it turns out I've hatched this year). In fact I should have my own Silkies this year, I've a few eggs in the incubator my new group has laid, and if the Egyptian Fayoumis begin laying as early as advertised I should have some of them as well.
To your musing, though, the underlying point is that if one wants birds bred to the Standard of Perfection (SOP), a hatchery is not the place to look - yes occasionally a good one will come from a hatchery, but it is uncommon. For someone who is serious about birds bred to SOP, once you have decided which breed (or breeds) you are interested in, find and join the breed club, subscribe to the Poultry Press, read breed-related threads here on BYC and elsewhere, attend poultry shows if you are able, and eventually you find breeders whose birds you admire who are willing to part with pairs/trios/quads, chicks, or eggs. A certain measure of patience is also required, as I have discovered in my quest for Rose Comb Light or Dark Brown Leghorns - or Rose Comb Leghorns any color other than white, really. Thought I had it nailed down when I ordered from Mr. Urch, but his Leghorns have gone on strike this year and he has none available in any color or comb. I will find them eventually, and it might not be until next year - and that's fine, I have plenty of projects here to keep me busy this year
One other point, too, is that if you want birds bred to the SOP but are not planning to breed, you can contact breeders and ask them to consider you when they decide which pullets to remove from their breeding program. They will refer to them as culls, in the sense that they are not birds they want to include in future breeding, but even they will be much closer to SOP than hatchery chicks. Every breeder has them - no one breeds every pullet they hatch, unless they are attempting to save a breed or line with critically few specimens available for the gene pool.
